The management of the EU-Asia Business Finance Center Holding has responded to Armenian prime minister Karen Karapetyan’s yesterday’s post to his Facebook page calling on the Diaspora Armenians to “participate in the building of the motherland’s future.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, Ashot Grigoryan, the head of the Armenian community of Slovakia and the chairman of the EU-ASIA Business Finance Centre Holding, reminded the prime minister that his Holding “has already undertaken such a patriotic initiative in November 2016. However, not only did we not receive any support from Karapetyan’s government, but they also did everything in their power to make sure that this global and patriotic project failed.”

The statement refers to the offer made to Armenia’s government by a delegation of Slovak businessmen and state officials over the complete relaunch of production facilities in Yerevan’s idling Nairit rubber plant. Ashot Grigoryan had personally visited Armenia last November to present the project to Armenian officials, but the government has yet to respond to the offer.

“Despite the fact that we had presented you with a huge and unprecedented plan, you announced immediately after the visit that the EU-Asia Business Finance Center Holding had not made any offers to Armenia’s government, otherwise it would have been discussed. After that, the Nairit relaunch project was yet again sent to your government, but suddenly and in a very strange way, Nairit’s bankruptcy process began at an accelerated pace, and on November 28 the plant was declared bankrupt, which marked the beginning of the plan to ‘liquidate’ Nairit.

“[…] For the EU-Asia Business Finance Center Holding, this is a glaring example of deception, which allows us to turn to our compatriots in the Diaspora and to declare that Armenia’s current prime minister is spreading misinformation and trying to create a personal image of a citizen concerned about the country’s economic recovery. But he is only keeping up appearance, and the actual picture is quite different; this is a very well-organized show, and the prime minister, to cite the [Armenian] president, is a showman,” the statement reads.

If you want to create the atmosphere of confidence, urge to form a common platform to fight against fraud, announced a member of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) Zoya Tadevosyan.

"They talk about fair and transparent elections but at the same time compile lists and promise bribes to attract voters. This is not fair. The political forces that aim to lay the foundations for further development of Armenia can do so only through the formation of a legitimate government. If you want to create an atmosphere of public confidence and public trust in Armenia, urge to create a common platform to fight against fraud,” said Zoya Tadevosyan.

According to her, the concentration of efforts at the polling stations and the struggle will allow to prevent frauds. "People get so spoiled, that the fact of being poor seems to justify their actions, when they accept all the donations under the so-called charity, which later becomes the reason of collapse. Consequently, each of us must take a share of our sin and fight. We are ready and have a strong team to fight against fraud, "said Tadevosyan.

Zoya Tadevosyan takes the 4th place in the electoral list and will also run in Ajapnyan-Arabkir-Davitashen area. The Congress will take part in the parliamentary elections under the slogan "Peace, reconciliation, and solidarity".

YEREVAN. – The participants in Armenia’s financial market are expecting a certain market distortion next month, according to Haykakan Zhamanak (Armenian Time) newspaper.

“These expectations are due to the amount of the election bribes to be distributed ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections [to be conducted in the country on April 2].

“The problem is that the main part of the money intended for election bribes is kept in foreign currency, whereas the election bribe will be distributed in drams [i.e. the national currency of Armenia].

“This means that a sharp increase in the [US] dollar supply will be created in the market [of Armenia], in a very short period of time. This will coincide with the inflow of a large number of tourists from neighboring Iran, as of mid-March, on the occasion of the Nowruz [i.e. the Iranian New Year] holiday, when a dollar surplus usually arises [in Armenia].

“These two factors together may cause some market shocks [in the country], and bring about the dram’s gaining value for a short term,” wrote Haykakan Zhamanak.

Bribes~Is it than that the elections has been won by the administration but done so by the purchase of votes? Are the ballots filled out by those bribed,,, with someone looking over their shoulder or do they sign a proxy and the ballots filled out for them?

What are we seeing here?

Is monies being handed out at the polling place? Do the voters stand in a polling booth alone? Are the ballots dropped into a box without being seen by anyone but the voter?

Do the ballots have the name of the voter on the ballot~unlike here where there is no name on the ballot?

Armenia’s election campaign is running at full steam as April 2 is around the corner. There are nine alliances participating in the elections. Their slogans are out and most of the parties are promising “change.” But no one has yet revealed the direction of that “change” because based on past experience, after the elections, the direction of those changes is in reverse.

The polls are out and they express the popular sentiment fairly accurately. But the outcome of the elections may be completely different because most people do not vote the way they think. They are not at liberty to vote their conscience. If they are employed by the government; their destiny is predetermined; their vote is not a personal vote, but is an institutional vote. It has already been decided for them.

If they want to continue their employment past April 2, they better vote “wisely.”

Conversely, if they are not employed by the government, they can sell their vote in the open market. The price fluctuates from one precinct to another but the going rate is anywhere between $50-$100, a sum which can put food on the table for a few days. After that, the party which buys the vote loses interest in the fate of the voter.

No one can say Armenia restricts freedom of speech. People are free to express their opinions. Even newspapers are free to write anything and everything. For that reason, the media can be manipulated by individuals and groups to malign their opponents with impunity. The press stoops to astonishingly low levels since they are not beholden to any degree of accountability or libel laws.

Dealing with the issue of freedom of speech and press, two determining factors have to be considered. There are countries like Turkey where freedom is restricted and retribution is fast. Unlike Turkey, Armenians can say and make any obscene statement about the president freely. Therefore, the first component is the ability or freedom to express oneself. The other component of free media is the impact of your statement.

In civilized countries, public opinion matters. In Armenia, the impact of free speech is nil. No one listens to nor wishes to hear what the public thinks or wants.

In the same vein, polls are not necessarily arbiters of truth. The Gallup International Association has conducted a survey and the results reflect the popular sentiment at this moment. Here are those results: Tsarukyan Alliance 26.4 percent; the Ruling Republican Party 22.8 percent; Yelk (Exit), headed by Nikol Pashinyan 4.3 percent; Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), 3.9 percent; Free Democrats, headed by the former Foreign Minister Alik Arzoumanyan 3.4 percent; Armenian Renaissance 2.7 percent; Armenian National Congress-Armenian Popular pParty alliance headed by former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, 2.6 percent; the Seyran Ohanyan, Raffi Hovannisian and Vartan Oskanian Alliance, 1.8 percent and the Communist Party of Armenia, 1 percent.

When the real opposition is in jail, some groups may pretend to play the part of the opposition, to the pleasure of the ruling party.

Many under-the-table deals are already in motion. Ter-Petrosian’s alliance may win 2-3 seats in the parliament, but if Serzh Sargsyan has promised them five seats, the Central Election Commission will oblige. Similarly, deals are made with the ARF and even with Tsarukyan’s alliance, which may emerge as the second most powerful group in the parliament and a power sharing arrangement is already in the works.

The ruling party has resorted to an electoral ruse. The slate is headed by three charismatic leaders who cover up for the oligarchs and Mafioso figures in the background.

Those three figures are Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, who has charisma and popularity. He is running the campaign for the Republican Party, even though he cannot run as a candidate because he does not meet the four-year residency requirement. However, down the road, conflict is inevitable if he remains in Armenia and his popularity continues to soar, because during the election of the prime minister in 2018, he will face the incumbent president, Serzh Sargsyan, who has determined to perpetuate his rule.

The second person of equal charisma is Minister of Culture Armen Amirian. He has run the government media for a long time and his name is associated with many spectacular cultural achievements.

The third figure is Arpine Hovhannisyan, Armenia’s justice minister, who is a young woman, one of the few in high positions of power.

Besides the Tsarukyan Alliance, the other noteworthy alliance is the Ohanyan-Hovannisian-Oskanian group, which has the stigma of raising the opposition flag, after falling from favor from having served with the power elite for so many years.

Incidentally, only the Tsarukyan Alliance has been warned by the Central Election Commission not to bribe the voters, while all the groups entertain hefty war chests. It is believed that the government party will spend $100 million to win the election, to preserve its hold on power and to continue robbing the people.

People are asking for accountability about the ruling party’s past performance. The legitimate question is: should the Republican Party continue to remain in power when the economy is deteriorating, when the government has not devised a plan to stop the depopulation of the country and has been a party to the army corruption that resulted in unnecessary deaths as a result of the April 2, 2016 Azerbaijani attack when the Armenian side lacked bullets or guns to fight off the Azeris.

The ARF has abandoned its breast-beating patriotic slogans and has come up with the most professional platform addressing bread-and-butter issues, and other vital issues such as ecology and other relevant problems.

However, the problem with this party is credibility: too many flip-flops in the past, joining the ruling party or pretending to play the part of the opposition on demand.

Although too much hot rhetoric is filling the air, there is general apathy about the elections. The general mood is that nothing will change and no one is powerful enough to unseat the ruling elite.

The executive director of Transparency International Armenia on Wednesday voiced concern over the recently released voter registers, pointing out to inaccuracies in addresses and other personal data.

Varuzhan Hoktanyan said a recent monitoring conducted by the anti-corruption center revealed that a large number of voters “without registered residence addresses and birth dates”.

“In Armenia, there are 883 addresses where 20 or more voters are registered. The police have certainly provided their clarification, saying that these include nursing homes for the elderly, as well as a district with 463 registered voters, etc. Also, there are 10, 825 addresses with 10 or more registered voters,” he added.

Hoktanyan said they also found 2,755 voters without any addresses.

He added that a final analysis will be available after the police release a revised and finalized list of registered voters.

David Amiryan, the president of Open Society Foundations – Armenia, added that the funding of nation-wide elections and administrative resources has been under their spotlight since 2003.

“With all our projects implemented so far, we have been hopeful to raise the civil society’s participation in electoral processes and promote more democratic and civilized elections through monitoring,” he added.

He spoke with the press and pointed out 5 messages, which we present below.

“1. Go and vote. I know many Armenians don’t have the confidence that their vote can count. The have some bad experience from the past, but I want to say openly that his time we’ll do everything so that your vote will count, so go and vote.

2. Believe strongly that your vote will be secret and anonymous. There is nothing in the new technology – in the voter identification and the cameras – which will disclose your choice. Don’t believe people who are telling you they will find out how you voted. It is not possible.

3. Don’t be exposed to the temptation of selling your vote. You may be approached by people who will be offering you money, services, promises in exchange for your vote. There is no money in the world that can be worth selling your vote.

4. Be brave, don’t be intimidated. You may be exposed to threats, even to violence. These elections will decide you future.

5. If you see something wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up. Approach the law inforcement agencies, even if you don’t believe they will take resolute action. That is their duty.”

YEREVAN. – The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), led by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, has begun to bribe people ahead of the forthcoming parliamentary election, whereas the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) is turning a blind eye on this, wrote Zhoghovurd (People) newspaper.

According to the newspaper, during an RPA election campaign assembly in Spitak town, a man asked PM Karapetyan to give him a watch as a gift, and the Premier did not turn him down. He instructed his consultant to take down the information of this man, so as to send him a watch.

As per Zhoghovurd, however, this is a violation of the Electoral Law of Armenia. According to Article 19 of this law, candidates and political parties running in elections are prohibited from giving—or pledging—money, food, securities and goods, or providing—or pledging—services to voters.

Azatutyun.am has interview Principal of School N42 Eleonora Tumanyan in connection with the lists of voters drawn up by directors of kindergartens and schools.

Last week, the Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) said it had collected evidence according to which ‘school principals in Armenia pressurize staff members and pupils’ parents to vote for the ruling Republican Party (HHK) in the April parliamentary elections.’ The UIC claimed that the ruling party abused its administrative resource making heads of schools and kindergartens draw up lists of voters who would vote for the HHK in the April 2 vote.